A New Generation of Native Americans Awakens to Indian Boarding School

Opinion. Last year, about a week after news broke about the buried remains of 215 innocent school children at the Kamloops Industrial Residential School in Canada’s British Columbia province, I reported on a rally in my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The crowd of about 200 included many members of our local Native American community.  Some proudly carried their tribal flags, one man waved the American Indian Movement flag, and others carried homemade signs. One sign read: “Residential Genocide — 215 Native Children Murdered!” 

As the month of June unfolded, more stories emerged from Canada about additional graves that had been discovered at other closed-down residential boarding schools. On the last Saturday of the month, I attended a talking circle, which provided a safe space for the Native community to talk openly about the revelations and share their feelings about the terrible truths associated with Indian boarding schools. 

More than a dozen people at the talking circle — mostly young Native women — expressed their hurt and anger over the horrific treatment of Native children at Indian boarding schools. Several wept openly as they talked about what they were feeling and how they were coping with news of Native children who died so far from their familial homes.  One woman said the news had caused her to break out with dry heaves.

During the talking circle, it occurred to me that I was witnessing an awakening of a new generation. I realized some may have had a cursory knowledge of Indian boarding schools, but now they were being confronted with a fully formed picture of this horrific and dark chapter of our Indigenous history.  

Last month, that picture became more detailed with the release of the Interior Department’s Indian Boarding School report.  As our newsroom discussed the report and the intergenerational impact of boarding schools on Native communities, two of the youngest members of our staff joined the conversation. After hearing what they had to say, we decided to interview these two bright young Gen-Z women for our weekly Native Bidaské show to share with our viewers. 

Kristen Lilya (Ojibwe) and Neely Bardwell (Odawa) are two young Anishinaabe kwewok (women) who bring a lot of talent and youthful perspective to our Native news organization. 

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